Answers
by Madame of all Manga
Summary: Everything was chaos. Bullets were flying everywhere. Shinichi was glad that he was in Conan's body at the moment. If he had been any taller he would have been killed by now. Weaving his way through the legs of people, he tried to get to the laboratory building. He had to get the pill APTX4869.


Everything was chaos. Bullets were flying everywhere. Shinichi was glad that he was in Conan's body at the moment. If he had been any taller he would have been killed by now. Weaving his way through the legs of people, he tried to get to the laboratory building. He had to get the pill APTX4869. If he didn't have that, Haibara couldn't make the antidote and he would never be able to get back to Ran.

Shinichi almost stopped multiple times. He kept hearing the cries of those that had been hit and saw bodies falling all around him. Why did people have to carry guns with them? They were always used to murder or injure people. He vowed to never use another gun if he made it through this. Focusing on his path again while trying to tune out the screams of people around him he turned a corner.

He was almost there! He could see the goal in front of him now. All he had to do was find a pill while in there. Opening the door, Conan heard the sound of a wire being pulled and he immediately jumped out of the way and took off running. How could he have been so stupid as to not believe that traps had been set up around the place? Conan started crying as the lab blew up around him and he was caught in the blast being blown to the wall and falling unconscious. 'Ran' was Conan's last thought before he hit the wall.

It was night. Ran had been staying up all day just so that she could talk with Shinichi. Shinichi was supposed to come back soon from what she had heard over the phone. She couldn't wait until that day especially now that Conan had left. With a grin on her face, Ran went to sleep looking forward to the next day not knowing of the fight going on around her.

Waking up, Conan noticed that he wasn't in the same place as he had been before. Everything was too bright for this to be the Black Organization headquarters. Groaning, he realized he was in another hospital. Could he ever solve a crime without getting injured?

Looking around, Conan spotted Jodie-sensei, Vermouth, and Kaitou KID. That was an interesting combination.

"Tantei-kun! You're awake!" KID yelled triumphantly. Then all of a sudden he was scolding him. "Why did you do something so stupid? If you had mentioned that you were going into the middle of that scuffle, we could have found someone to help you get there. I even could have gone to get what you were looking for. Never do that ever again!"

Conan just stared. KID was there and his poker face was gone? He was scolding Conan even though he knew that KID did things even more reckless on a daily basis? Ok, scratch that, what he had done beat anything KID did on a daily basis even if KID had to run for his life after every prank he pulled.

"What were you doing in there? Didn't we tell you to stay out in the car? You were supposed to help us by telling us where to go and look out for any of the Black Organization that could be lurking around! Why did you leave your post and what could be so important to you that you would be willing to leave us there? We even made a special exception to let you come with us even though you are just a kid!" Jodie screamed.

"Now, now, no reason screaming at the poor kid. He must have a reason to do what he did and I am sure he will tell us," Vermouth said calming the other woman down.

"I did try to help you, but part of the way through they must have installed things to make it so that bugs wouldn't work. All of the screens went black and no sound was coming through. I even tried to tell you that the bugs weren't working, but I never got a response. Instead of staying there where I was useless, I figured that I could go and try to find the laboratory. There was something in there that I needed, but with the lab being blown up I can't really get it now." Conan looked down and couldn't believe what he had just said.

The lab was blown up, and that was where the APTX4869 pill was. How would he ever get back to Ran now? Would she ever forgive him for what he had done? Would he ever forgive himself for what he had done?

Conan was off in his own world and everyone knew it so they just left him there. Even KID who always tried to cheer everyone up. There was no way he could cheer Conan up. He knew how the kid must be feeling at the moment.

When Ran woke up she felt that something was different that day. She kept having this horrible feeling throughout the day. It really made her worry. Had something happened to Shinichi or Conan while she had been sleeping? There was no point just worrying about it. She had to find out what was going on.

Her thoughts were answered when she saw the morning paper. "Takedown of the Black Organization" was written in big bold lettering across the top of the paper.

_I never heard of the Black Organization… Wonder how they were found and taken down. They must have been really bad to get this much coverage even with them being an unknown group _Ran thought.

Looking over the paper, Ran almost cried in surprise. In one of the pictures she could see Conan running into the building in the background. _What is Conan doing there? Isn't he supposed to be in America with his family? Why is he back in Japan and why is he running into such a dangerous building?_

Reading more to try and find more information on what had happened and any possible information on Conan she read of the horrors of the group. They had been shooting indiscriminately when they realized they were trapped. They just hoped that they could create an opening to escape even if it meant killing some of their own. Many officers had been killed during the struggle, but they were still finding more bodies. The fight had gone on during the night less than 8 hours ago, and there had been an explosion in one section of the building. She hoped that no one had been injured during that explosion even though she knew that it was false hope.

Noticing the time, she hurried out of the room. She had to get to school. Maybe Shinichi would be back and he would have answers for her there. He had mentioned that he would be coming back during this week when they had talked last night.

People were talking about it everywhere she went. Even at school, the teachers were just talking about what had happened the night before. Everyone was speculating on if Shinichi had been involved in the raid on the Organization. He had been gone for as long as the paper said an investigation into the Organization had been going on.

Ran hoped that it wasn't true. She didn't want Shinichi to be involved in something this dangerous. It was bad enough that Conan might have been involved.

On her way home, Ran almost bumped into someone. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed them standing in front of her house.

"Shinichi?" Ran asked upon seeing the person. It really looked like her lost friend. Could it really be Shinichi? Had he finally come back to her?

"I'm sorry. You have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Kuroba Kaito. Nice to meet you," Kaito said while producing a rose for her.

"Oh… Sorry. I thought… Never mind. Are you here for something? Did you get lost? Or are you waiting for someone here?" Ran asked.

"I was actually waiting for you. Your father threw me out of the building though. I think he might have thought that I was Shinichi also. I don't think he likes Shinichi much."

"You were waiting for me? Why would you wait for me when we have never met?"

"I heard about you from Shinichi while he was working on a case. He held you in such high regard that I just had to meet you. This was the first opportunity that I got to be able to come and see you though. Is there somewhere you would like to go? I don't think your father will let me back in there even if you try to get him to agree and I don't want to be the cause of any destruction of property." Kaito grinned at her.

_Oh Shinichi was so going to get it when he got back. How could he have told a stranger about her karate and the destruction of property caused by it?_ Ran blushed. "I don't know. Let me get changed quickly and then we can go. I just need to put the stuff in the room and I will be back down."

Before Kaito could even try to pull any tricks, Ran was gone. She came back down shortly after.

"Alright, have you decided on a place to go or should I lead the way?" Kaito asked grinning widely glad that she had actually joined him.

"You just lead the way. I have no idea where to go."

"Sounds good to me," Kaito replied while leading Ran to his favorite café. It had so many wonderful drinks and desserts.

"Pick anything you want. After all, I am the one who dragged you out here."

Ran smiled at him and ordered a small coffee. Just because he was paying didn't mean that she was going to splurge on something. "So is there anything specific you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh I just wanted to get to know you better. I had heard a lot about you from Shinichi a while ago, but I want to know if all of the things he said about you were correct. So far, it seems like he has a very accurate view of you."

Ran blushed when he said that. She had to wonder what Shinichi had said about her to this guy or any others he might have met.

They talked for a few hours until Kaito excused himself. He had another friend to meet. Exchanging numbers, they went their separate ways.

"Hey Conan. I met your girlfriend while I was out." Kaito grinned down at the chibified detective.

Conan just glared at him and tried to tune the thief out. How could he bring up Ran at this point of time? Didn't Kaito realize that he had almost no chance of ever getting back to being Shinichi? The lab had been blown up and even though all of the bodies were being checked no pills had shown up.

"If you keep acting like this, I promise to string you up from the ceiling and put you in an embarrassing outfit," Kaito threatened. He couldn't stand his favorite critic acting like this. Was Conan really giving up just because he couldn't get his body back? Sure he had to live through childhood again, but that didn't mean that he couldn't eventually get together with Ran. If she loved him enough, which judging by the conversation he had with her today she did, they would get together. There may be trials, but so long as neither of them give up it would work out.

"What would you know about it? You just have to worry about your girlfriend finding out about you being KID and hoping she doesn't kill you because of it. I have to worry about Ran getting over the idea that either 1) Shinichi is dead and not coming back and her never finding out that I am Shinichi which will end horribly for me because it is very unlikely that we will get together in that case or 2) her finding out about me being Shinichi hoping she doesn't kill me because of this and then her getting over the age difference that is caused by this and that she doesn't find someone else. Do what you want, but I am not in the mood to deal with you," Conan said as he turned away.

Everyone left Conan alone until one day Ai came in.

"Kudo, I'm sorry. I've tried everything that I can think of and there is no cure. No pill was found at the headquarters and no one is reporting about any other buildings where the pill might be stored. Not even Vermouth knows anything. I'm sorry, but you have to live life as Conan. Kudo Shinichi is now dead and there is no chance of him coming back." Ai knew she was being harsh to him, but he needed to face the facts. There would be no chance of them going back to their old lives, but they could start over from here.

As Ai left, she heard the quiet sobbing coming from the bed. She winced, but closed the door behind her.

In the morning, Ran's world turned upside down. She had been following the newspaper because they were still reporting about the Organization as more information was found. The headline this day was "Local Detective, Kudo Shinichi, Found Dead in Headquarters Wreckage." Ran started screaming and broke down.

Her father noticed her still there when he came back later that day. He had been out with a client, but it hadn't gone as well as he had hoped. It took so much longer than he had thought it would seeing as he had started the day before.

When he noticed the headline of the newspaper, he just picked up his daughter and rocked her back and forth. _How could that idiotic detective leave his daughter alone? He would never forgive that jerk and when he met him when he died he would beat him up for hurting his daughter like this._

No one called about Ran's absence from school that day. Everyone had read the newspaper and knew how close she was to Shinichi. The school made it a holiday from that year on in honor of Kudo Shinichi, the boy who had saved multiple lives without them knowing until it was too late. Many people were crying during the day.

A few weeks later, the funerals were being held. They decided to do a mass funeral for all of the people who had died during the raid on the Black Organization headquarters. The place was packed with everyone that came to wish farewell to all of those brave souls. All of the police force came because of knowing at least one person who had died. Many people came to say goodbye to their loved ones and many more came to say goodbye to Shinichi. He had been so young and still fought to save all of them at one point or another. Ran was standing by herself in a corner hoping to not be noticed by anyone. She couldn't deal with people at the moment.

Unfortunately, Kuroba Kaito decided to approach her. He had noticed her standing there crying and knew that he needed to do something. At first he had tried to find Conan to have him talk to her, but the kid had left a while ago. He couldn't stand being at his own funeral.

"Are you alright Ran-chan? I know you were close to Shinichi. Is there anything that I can do?"

"I'm sorry Kaito-kun. I just need to be left alone right now. I'll be fine if I can just be left alone." Ran tried to smile at him hoping to assure him that she was fine, but she failed miserably.

Kaito knew that she wouldn't listen to him though so he just backed off even though he was worried about her. What was with this couple being so stubborn?

_Ran, I wish I could come back to you. Please don't cry for me. I wish I could talk to you normally and tell you that I am not dead. You wouldn't believe me about any of it. How could you? I am in the body of a 9 year old. Who would believe me? _Conan just stared sadly at Ran before walking away.

A few days later, Conan came back to Japan officially. He moved in with Agasa-hakase and Ai. There was no way that he could stay with Ran now.

Both Ran and Conan seemed as if they were barely making it through their lives. They both acted as if they were going off auto-pilot. Their friends had to make it so that they would realize that they had to continue with their lives.

"Conan, I know you are depressed but you have to get over it. Just tell her the truth and I am sure that she would believe you. She would be ecstatic if you would just get her to listen to you. You know she keeps wishing that Kudo Shinichi weren't dead," Ai confronted Conan one day.

"Go away Haibara. I don't want to hear it," Conan replied as he slammed the door shut. He knew that what Ai said was true, but that didn't make him feel any better. _What Ran wanted was Shinichi to be back. How would she feel when she finds out that Conan is Shinichi? Would she really still want him back?_

"Ran, come on. You know that Shinichi wouldn't want you acting this way. He wouldn't want to see you this way and you know that he must always be watching over you. Even if he isn't here, he must always be watching over you and wishing for you to be happy. He would hate to see you slowly killing yourself like this!" Sonoko exclaimed. She didn't want to see her friend waste away anymore.

"Really Sonoko, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I just need some more time to sort all of this out," Ran replied before she went to her room leaving Sonoko behind.

In her room, Ran started throwing things around. She couldn't believe that Shinichi was dead, but then why wasn't he contacting her? Why did that detective geek just leave her alone like this? Ran went to her bed and cried herself to sleep. When she woke up, she saw two things. Her picture of her with Shinichi when they were out one day and her picture with her, Conan, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Ai next to Agasa-hakase's car. Immediately she shot up. How could she forget! She had always accused Conan of being Shinichi. Then, when Shinichi is saying that he will come back, Conan leaves. Conan came back when Shinichi's funeral was held. She had to hold onto her one last ray of hope. If this didn't turn out then she would never be the same and she knew it.

Ran quickly made her way to Agasa-hakase's house hoping to run into Conan before he left for anywhere. Luckily she saw Conan just as he was leaving. Sadly, he also saw her and broke off at a run.

_Why would she come here? She hasn't come to see me since that first day and even then she was mainly breaking down because of Shinichi being dead. Why would she come see him now?_

_No way am I letting you get away. Especially if you really are Shinichi. You are in so much trouble for lying to me if what I am thinking is true._

Ran took off after Conan. There was no way that she was going to let him get away. She needed answers and today was the day that she would get them.

Conan dodged a karate chop as Ran caught up to him. He couldn't let her actually catch him. How would he act around her at the moment? He wanted to tell her the truth, but that wouldn't work would it? She would just be pissed with him.

Conan made it all the way to the local park before he was captured. Ran had caught up with him pretty quickly, but he was able to use his smaller body to weave through people until he got a bigger distance between the two. He tried to climb a tree so that he would have some more distance between them and didn't have to worry about running from her. Unfortunately, he was caught shortly after.

"I want some answers! Don't say that you don't have any idea what I am talking about. I won't leave you until I know the truth: are you Kudo Shinichi?" Ran interrogated him while holding him against the tree to ensure that he couldn't leave.

"Kudo Shinichi is dead! You and I both know this very well. He won't come back ever again. Get over him!" Conan yelled. He couldn't tell if that was aimed more towards him or Ran but the point was still the same.

"I can't get over him! He is the one I have loved my whole life and I know that he would want me to move on with my life if he really were dead, but I don't think you want me to really do that Conan."

"What I want doesn't matter. I am just a kid! Kudo Shinichi is dead so do what he would want you to do if he were dead."

"Since you are so insistent on saying you aren't Shinichi, tell me this: why are you in the picture that was in the first newspaper article about taking down the Black Organization? I saw you clearly heading into that building. No ordinary kid would be allowed into a building where a police raid is being held. Even with you always helping the police, I highly doubt they would want you in there. Shinichi is never mentioned or pictured until they bring up that he was found dead in the wreckage. His body was never shown at the funeral though! Everyone else had their body shown, so why wouldn't Shinichi have his? It can't be that his body was so torn up or burned that they didn't want to show it seeing as there were others there that had been caught in the explosion. So tell me, where would his body be and why were you there?" She knew it was a long shot, but maybe it would actually get Conan talking.

"Wait, I was in a picture on the newspaper? Who took that picture? They said no pictures would be taken of that entrance. Only police officers were supposed to be there!" Conan couldn't believe that he had believed what the police and more importantly _Kaitou KID_ had told him.

Ran sighed. Conan had just ignored the main point of what she had said. "Yes. I can show it to you if you want, but not until you answer my questions. You are not leaving here until I have my answers."

"There is nothing to tell! I don't know why Shinichi's body wasn't shown! I was only there because I was helping them notice things from the van. I can tell you nothing more!" Conan hoped that Ran would listen to him. He really didn't want to tell her the truth.

"Now, now, Tantei-kun, you and I both know that that isn't true. You have loads more that you could tell her. The question is if you have the mental ability to put up with what you have to say and the consequences that come with it," Kaitou KID said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Morning ojou-san. I see you finally got the strength to confront Tantei-kun. That's good. I was afraid I would have to lock you two in a room until you talk to each other. Though, seeing how Tantei-kun is acting, I might still have to do that."

"KID! Wait, you know something about Conan? What is he hiding? He won't tell me anything!" Ran tried getting answers out of KID, but still held onto Conan.

"You know that I can't do that. The answers are only worth something if they come from Conan isn't that right ojou-san?" KID grinned at her.

"You're right."

"Thanks KID. I will make sure to remember this. Don't forget that I know everything about you too!" Conan took his anger out on KID and made sure to remember to be extra vicious at the next heist.

"Please, tell the truth Shinichi, Conan. I just want answers. I can't live this way anymore. The pain is so unbearable. I feel like I am slowly dying every day just because Shinichi isn't here with me. Please, I just want to have straight answers. Are you Shinichi or not?"

Conan looked at her. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. She loved him enough that she felt like she was dying and willing enough to plead with him? How could he not have noticed that she was suffering like this?

Eventually he caved in. "Yes Ran. I am Shinichi… You weren't supposed to ever find out this way though. I was going to tell you when I came back as Shinichi, but everything went wrong. I was heading into the building to try and get a pill that caused me to turn into Conan so that an antidote could be made. Unfortunately, the place had traps all around it and the lab exploded. It all started that day we went to Tropical Land…"

Ran was crying at the end of the story. She couldn't believe that Shinichi had gone through all of that just to try and return to her. She took Conan into her arms again and hugged him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I didn't want you to know that I was Shinichi. Why would you want to be with me when I am in the body of Conan? It is a 10 year difference! This isn't fair to you. I was hoping that you would get together with someone else. Never did I realize that you would react this way."

"For a deduction maniac, you really are dense with emotions directed to yourself. Did you really think that I wouldn't love you just because of 10 measly years? I have waited this long without even knowing if you were safe or not. Now that I know that you are safe and where you are, why wouldn't I wait for you? It isn't like you won't age again. Just promise me you won't go off like this ever again. I was really worried for you. I missed you."

"Ran, how could I ever do this to you again? I don't think I could even deal with anything like this ever again let alone put you through this again."

"Good. It's a promise," Ran said and then gave an evil smirk that had Conan squirming to get away again. "Now, about your punishment for putting me through this in the first place…"

KID quickly disappeared and Conan promised even more retribution for the thief at the next heist. He could have at least taken him with!


End file.
